What is the SKML?
The SKML is a non-profit organisation responsible for the external quality assessment of medical laboratory diagnostics. Below, we explain what this involves and what our ambitions are.

External Quality Assessment
Doctors and patients rely on medical laboratory diagnostics to yield consistent results, regardless of when or where a measurement is taken. The SKML contributes to this by sending identical, blinded materials to participating laboratories and asking them to analyse the materials as they would do for routine samples. This is called external quality assessment, as it takes place in addition to the internal quality control each laboratory conducts to monitor the consistency of its own performance. External quality assessment is known in English as External Quality Assessment (EQA) and is also referred to as Proficiency Testing (PT).

After the participating laboratories have send their results and conclusions to SKML, the SKML compiles a report for the participants, showing their results compared to those of other participants—and, where available, also those of reference laboratories or experts. The participating laboratories use the reports as tools for monitoring and improving their performance. Experience shows that participation in EQA programs leads to improved performance by laboratories and the reduction of between laboratory differences.